Le plus célèbre des dissidents Chinois, il a passé plus de quinze ans dans les geôles de la République Populaire de Chine.
Extrait d'un article du New York Times (October 16, 1999) : China Moves Against Two Dissidents' Families : "Two Chinese dissidents rumored to be Nobel Peace Prize nominees, Wei Jingsheng and Wang Dan, live in exile beyond the reach of the Chinese police. But not their families. Today, as the world awaited the announcement of the award for 1999, the police [...]".